The New World
by SubjectDeltaBubz
Summary: Zombie AU. Attempting to pick up the pieces of the end of the world, the rumor of a new settlement sends Zuko and his newly reunited friends across an infected wasteland in an attempt to save the human race. But with conflicting ideals and flesh hungry infected, they might not make it out alive. ZukoxSuki, KataraxAang and much more
1. Chapter 1

**This is my second attempt at a Zombie story, but I won't be making any of the mistakes I made before with this one, i.e no super powered zombies or keeping the main group alive. EVERYONE and I mean everyone has the possibility of dying. Enjoy!**

Aang sat looking at the pond, his body completely numb after what the girl to his right had just said to him. "That's it?"

"Yeah…" Katara trailed off. "I'm sorry Aang…"

"Can I at least know why?"

She sighed deeply, "It's because you're immature Aang. While I mature, you seem to stay the same age. We're graduating High School in a month and you just stopped watching Saturday morning cartoons."

Aang leaned back against the seat, "Says the girl that needs a lullaby to help her get to sleep."

"That's completely irrelevant."

"Well I guess I'm too immature to understand the relevance," Aang mocked. He stood up, wanting nothing more to leave his problems at the pond.

"I still want to be friends Aang," Katara said. "Just because I lost a boyfriend, doesn't mean I want to lose my best friend."

He ran his hand through his hair, "I don't know about that Katara…" Aang walked away, leaving a piece of himself sitting on the bench.

* * *

Zuko went through the news on his phone as Suki held another dress in front of her body, "What do you think of this one Zuko?" She asked. Not getting an answer, she looked to him through the mirror to see his attention somewhere else, "Zuko?" He grunted in response, "Did you hear me?" Zuko shook his head, "Can you at least look at me?"

He looked up from the phone, "Sorry, but have you read any of these epidemic warnings spreading across the country?"

"I have, but I'm not really too worried about it right now," She said, going back to her 'problem' at hand. "Now, which dress do you think Sokka will like more? The red one or the green one?"

He scrolled down the web page, "I'm pretty sure he would rather have you naked."

Suki turned around to face him, "Why are you so obsessed with the news lately?"

"Why aren't you? People are getting sick every second, it causing people to go crazy. There are reports of people getting bitten by infected people. They're close to calling Martial Law." Zuko looked away from his phone momentarily to see the green dress she held in front of her body, it really brought out her teal eyes. "The green one is the best."

She looked back in the mirror, "I'm sure everything is going to blow over soon Zuko, it's not like it's an epidemic or anything. It's like if someone was smoking Bath Salts when they had Swine Flu, it probably won't even come close to us." Suki went into her closet, shutting the door behind her. He finally put his phone away as she came out of the closet, she tucked some of her messy hair behind her ear. The dress showed little cleavage with spaghetti straps and it came up to her mid-thigh. "You think he'll like it?"

Zuko stood up from the bed, looking at her beautiful form, "He's crazy if he doesn't."

A blush crept across her cheeks, "Thank you Zuko." Suki quickly realized how close he was to her. With the 6 inches he had on her, his amber eyes looked down at her. Whenever he was this close to her, her heart always sped up and had a hard time controlling her breathing. The silent stare between them was broken up by Zuko's phone.

He sighed at the screen, a frown appearing on his face, "I have to go, Katara broke up with Aang and now he's at my house." Zuko slid the phone back in his pocket. "Good luck with your date with Sokka."

"Thanks," They shared a small hug before he started to leave, pulling open the door part of the way before shutting it. His head hung for a second as he thought for a moment. He turned and walked back towards her, capturing her in a heated kiss. Suki's eyes widened in shock, trying to wrap her mind around the kiss that was over as soon as it happened.

"I'm sorry, but...I couldn't help myself..." He trailed off before quickly leaving her room.

* * *

"KATARA! WAKE UP!" Her brother's screeching tore her from her sleep, her heart thumping in her chest as she shot up in her bed. Katara's eyes adjusted to her surroundings, Sokka was by the side of her bed, their Father's spare gun in his hand. He was only dressed in his shorts, shirt and sneakers with blood splatter staining his clothes.

"Sokka? What's going on? Is that blood on you?" She panicked as he pulled her from her bed.

"Get dressed, we have to go now!" He yelled. Katara grabbed the clothes she had on the other day from the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the twitching body lying in the hall.

Pulling on her pants, Katara decided to get answers. "Sokka, please, what is going on? Who is that in hall?"

"Miss Stevens," He said, she could see the look of horror in her brother's eyes, "She broke into the house and she was completely rabid. She tried biting me and…I…j-just get dressed." Getting completely dressed, Sokka grabbed the softball bat from her closet, "You'll need this for protection. If you see the red in anyone's eyes, don't hesitate and swing, do you understand me?"

Katara nodded, "Where's Dad?"

"He's at the Station, he said he's fine. He wants us to stay here, but it's not safe. Whatever is going on, it's happening everywhere. He thinks they're…something else." Sokka explained while Katara avoiding looking at the nearly dead Miss Stevens. Flying down the stairs, Katara's eyes went wide at the broken door splintered on the floor. "We'll take my car, we have to stop by Suki's house to get her before we go to Dad."

Katara stopped, "If we're stopping for Suki, we need to get Aang too."

He easily pulled her along, "This is non-negotiable Katara, my duty since we lost Mom was to protect you and now that includes my girlfriend. Plus you dumped Aang yesterday, why should we get your ex-boyfriend?"

"He's still my best friend Sokka," She argued as he opened the door and pushed her in before slamming it shut. Sokka got in the other side and turned on the car, the roaring of the engine gaining unneeded attention.

"Then we might as well save Zuko, Haru and Jet too," Sokka sarcastically replied, "Katara, this is survival against man-eating monsters that used to be people…the faster we get to Dad, the safer we will be." Katara screamed when a couple of the creatures clashed against the car, banging on the windows. Sokka reversed down the driveway and sped off down the street.

She watched with horror as they passed by unluckier souls fare against their rabid neighbors, "They're like animals…"

Sokka barely swerving in time to miss other chaotic drivers on the road, "Yeah, animals on _freaking_ steroids. Zuko thought there was something weird about whatever illness was coming across the country…we should have paid more attention."

Katara braced herself as Sokka's car collided with one of the infected, the body flying over the hood. "At least _try_ to miss them Sokka!"

"When you wake up with one of them coming up the stairs to _eat_ you after beating down the door, you kind of want to obliterate all of them," Sokka argued back. Since time was of the essence, Sokka pulled up to Suki's house and parked the car partially on her lawn and walkway. The broken front window with blood painted on the white curtains didn't raise his hopes. "Stay here, if anyone comes after you, you know what to do." Sokka shut the door behind him, jumping through the broken window in search for Suki. "Suki?! Are you here?!" The house was deathly silent as he crept along, realizing the sneaking was pointless after yelling. He heard a thud from the second floor and nearly leapt up the stairs, "Suki!?" Running into her room, Sokka was stunned to see the bloody body on the bed. "No…Suki…" Sokka dropped to his knees, tears beginning to prick his eyes. "I'm too late…"

The bathroom door opened; Suki came out drying her hands, wearing a green sweatshirt with black yoga pants and running shoes, a sheathed katana on her back. "Sokka?"

He looked between her and the body on the bed, "You're not dead?"

"No, but I got a surprise wake up call," Suki said, he quickly enveloped her in a hug. A soft smile appeared on her face, her hand softly patting his head.

"I'm so glad you're alive," He mumbled into her sweatshirt.

"Well I'm hoping you brought something to get us out of here," Suki pried him off of her. "We have to go get Zuko."

"Why do we need Zuko?"

"He's the one who has been following this thing since day one and he has a plan," She said. "I was able to get through to him for a minute, he said he has Aang, Jet and his sister."

"Fine, but we need to get to the Police Station and hold up there with my Dad," Sokka took Suki's hand, before they descended the stairs, he looked towards her parent's bedroom, "What about your parents? Where are they?"

He looked to Suki, who remained emotionless, "They… _opted_ out…I found them in their room." Sokka was speechless, but Suki pulled him down the stairs with her, her grip loose on his hand, "They made their decision, there's no reason to get hung up on it now with everything still going on." He decided to let it go as they left the house, Suki closing the door behind her on instinct. They saw some of the infected shuffling down the street and Sokka raised his gun, but Suki lowered it. "Don't. Zuko said they are sensitive to loud noises, so the more noise we make, it will alert more and more of them." Suki got into the back seat while Sokka got into the driver's seat. Sokka started off towards Zuko's house and Katara turned back to look at her friend.

"Are you okay? Did you have to… _kill_ any of them?" Katara asked.

Suki looked out the window and nodded, "Yep…and I have a feeling we're all going to have to kill a lot more soon."

Seeing the solemn look that had overcome her friend, Katara turned back towards the front of the car, letting the conversation die. She noticed that Sokka had passed the turn to the Station. "Sokka, where are you going?"

His eyes went to his girlfriend through the rearview and then looked back at the road, "Suki agrees with you that we need to get Zuko. Aang, Azula, Jet and Zuko are held up in his house…as far as we know right now." A sad smile appeared on Katara's face, happy to know at least someone agreed with her. If this was a complete outbreak, a larger group would increase their chances of survival. Sokka swerved out of the way of another car, keeping Katara on her toes so she wouldn't smack her head against the window. Pulling up to Zuko's house, Katara's eyes reflected the flames that engulfed half of his yard. "Well, let's see if they're still alive before the house catches fire." Sokka and Suki got out first, taking care of the couple infected around the house. Katara was the first to run up to the door and pounded on it.

"Zuko? Aang? Anyone?" She yelled, her fist slamming against the door.

The door quickly pulled open and Katara was face-to-face with a homemade flamethrower. After a second, it was lowered away from her, "Oh, it's only you," Azula sighed. "I wanted to light up another one of those dead freaks." She left the door open, walking back into the living room, "Zuzu, your friends are here."

Sokka shut the door behind them and they went into the living room where Zuko and Jet were sitting beside a radio. Zuko held up his hand for silence before Sokka initiated any 'I can't believe you're alive' conversation. ' _…Again, please stay indoors and barricade all doors and windows. Do not let yourself come in contact with the attackers and if someone you know has been bitten or scratched, isolate them immediately before they contaminate anyone else. If you are just tuning in, infected attackers have taken over the city and you must keep your distance from them. Don't attempt to reach family or friends. If you find yourself surrounded by any infected individuals, the Ba Sing Se City police have said to attack the head to defend yourself. Wait, we have an update,_ ' The man on the radio was silent for a couple moments, ' _…it has been reported that…that the East Coast has gone dark….we'll try to keep a constant update as long as we are on the air_.' Zuko shut off the radio, grabbing his bolt action rifle from the table. "Nice to see you're all in one piece."

"Where's Aang?" Katara demanded.

Jet wiped the blood from his hook swords, "He's… _busy_."

"What does that mean?"

Zuko and Jet shared a look, but said nothing. "He's not here," Azula finally said. "He took off about 5 minutes ago. He is probably breakfast by now. And why do you care? Didn't you dump his poor ass last night?"

"That's what I heard too," Zuko couldn't stop himself from mumbling.

"It doesn't matter what Katara did last night or not, we need to get down to the Police station with my Dad. The Station has ammo and guns we can use and it's safe," Sokka tried to reason.

"I'm not leaving without knowing where Aang is," Katara poked her brother in the chest.

Azula rolled her eyes, "Jeez you're a buzz kill. I didn't hear anything from him about finding out about you, I'm pretty sure his words were 'who cares'."

"Azula, stop," Zuko snapped at his sister, "Stop trying to stir up drama, we have other things to worry about." Everyone turned towards the pounding on the front door, "Well, it looks like we have company." Zuko went over to the window, peeking outside. "Nice to see you brought your car, but it's pretty useless right now. There are at least 30 out there and they're headed this way."

"What's the plan hot head?"

The back door burst open with Aang leading a group into the house. Aang had a metal pole for his weapon, not surprisingly stained with blood. With him was Haru, who had a baseball bat, Yue, who had a crowbar, Ty Lee, who had an axe and Mai, who had a machete. "Oh look, the Air Head came back." Azula commented.

"Did you find a way out of here because we just ran out of options," Zuko spoke before Katara could say anything to her ex.

"Yeah, we found a way through the woods, Toph is out there waiting for us." Aang reported. He and Katara made brief eye-contact before he quickly looked away. "Ready?"

Zuko nodded, "Let's go." Though it wasn't going with their original plans, Sokka, Suki and Katara followed everyone else, Zuko following behind Suki. It was a silent walk through the woods, gun fire echoing in the distance. Katara kept eyeing her former boyfriend, attempting to find the words to smooth out the bad blood between the two. But every scenario that played out in her head didn't seem to work. After 10 minutes, they reached the edge of the woods, seeing Toph leaning against one of the trees, a hatchet hanging from her right hand.

"Jeez, did you have to find _everyone_ we know?" Toph asked sarcastically.

"Let's just be happy we all even made it," Jet said as they made it out to the clearing. Looking at their surroundings, they were on the edge of town on a barren road, with either side of the road surrounded by forest.

"So what now Sparky?"

"I think the plan is obvious, go back to the Police station with my Dad," Sokka proposed.

"No, we're not going back into town Sokka, we'll be walking right into a death trap," Zuko argued, "We should get away from town, at least lie low until everything is safer. The lower population density, the less we have to worry about being one of those _things_ next meals."

"I'm not going to leave my Dad back in town if I can go back and save him," Sokka angrily argued.

"Sokka, the police station is dead center in the most heavily populated area of Ba Sing Se. It would be suicide if we went now. We can just lay low for a bit and attempt to search for him when it cools down. Your Dad isn't worth sacrificing anyone else's life," Zuko attempted to reason.

Sokka felt a wave of anger wash over him, "My Dad is as important as everyone else here. Maybe you just don't understand because your Dad was a deadbeat, but my Dad actually means something to me."

Zuko raised his rifle towards his friend, as well as Azula, "Watch what you say Sokka or I can reunite you with your Mother." Sokka raised his gun while Katara gripped her bat. "If it wasn't for me Sokka, your dumbass would probably be dead, as well as your sister's and even Suki. So maybe if you would pull your head outta your ass and use some critical thinking, you would know that one life isn't worth all of our's."

"Okay, we get it, zip up your flies because this dick measuring contest is over," Jet attempted to stop their bickering. "None of us know what to do. The world is ending and any option can mean death for us. So how about we put it to a vote?"

"No way, I'm not going to be able to stand one more minute with this asshole." Sokka spat. "And I'm not leaving my Father to be eaten by those things."

Zuko gritted his teeth, "Don't do this Sokka."

"No, screw you man! Fuck you, I'm saving my Father." Sokka didn't budge from his position.

"Fine, then you're all either with him…or me," Zuko laid the ultimatum on the group. He backed up towards the way out of town while Sokka did the opposite, "Choose your side, the suicide mission or survival."

The first people to choose were the siblings, Azula going to her brother and Katara going to Sokka. Katara watched as Aang walked over to Zuko's side, not even bothering to look at her. Haru and Ty Lee silently went over to Sokka's side and Mai, Toph, Yue and Jet crossed to Zuko's side, leaving Suki left to choose. "Come on Suki," Sokka said.

"I don't want to choose between you two," Suki replied, "We don't have to split up because of petty things we've all said."

"Suki, you're my girlfriend," Sokka argued.

"But I grew up with Zuko."

"And I've protected her long before you moved here," Zuko added.

Sokka scoffed, "You just want her with you because you're in love with her." Suki looked over at her friend, he didn't have to say anything, but she could read it on his face.

"That's not the point here Sokka, I'll protect her like I will protect anyone in this group," Zuko didn't dare look at the auburn haired girl.

"Just give up on it already Zuko! She chose me, _not_ you, so stop trying to fill her head with lies and stop guilt tripping her into going with you!"

A loud explosion went off in the city, taking the attention off of the argument for the moment. "We can't wait here forever. If you're going to with Sokka, go with him, but we have to leave now." Zuko turned with his group, walking down the open road. Suki turned back towards Sokka, who was still stunned that she was still trying make a decision.

She sighed, "I'm sorry Sokka." Suki ran to catch up with Zuko.

"Fine, but after this day, if I even catch your scent…you're dead Zuko Goto!" Suki slowed down to a walk when she caught up with Zuko, their eyes meeting and a small smile on both of their faces. Zuko reached down and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together.

* * *

 **2 Years Later**

Zuko rubbed his aching and tired eyes, the crisp morning air was the only thing keeping him awake. Being up in the clock tower of a church wasn't exactly his ideal sleeping arrangement. He looked over to the other side of the tower, Suki sat up against the wall, only having passed out a few minutes ago along with Aang, his head lying in her lap. Sticking together since the outbreak of the infection, their whole group had gotten close, especially he and Suki. He watched a lone infected shamble past the church, Zuko set up his silenced rifle, watching its movements. It briefly looked at the church before stumbling away. He sighed and put the rifle back down, Zuko tried to get more comfortable against the stone wall, but to no avail. "How much longer until you want to go?" Suki whispered, her sleep filled eyes cracking open.

"I'll let everyone get at least another hour of sleep," His voice was hoarse. "So you and Aang can keep cuddling."

Suki gave him a sarcastic chuckle, "Jealousy doesn't suit you well Zuko Goto."

"Trust me, you'll know when I'm jealous," Zuko yawned. He got up and stretched, his worn shirt rising with his arms, revealing his lower stomach.

Suki grinned, "I still think your abs look a lot better without a 'happy trail'."

"I'll shave it when you shave," He smiled back.

"We've been out of Republic City for 2 weeks, you try finding time to shave your business when you're trying to keep everyone alive," She mumbled as her eyes closed again. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head before pulling up the door. Zuko climbed down the ladder and went down the steps to the ground floor of the church. He quietly pulled open the door, he poked his head out to see a couple people of his group were awake.

"Morning Zuko," Asami sipped on her water. "You look tired."

"I've been keeping watch, I decided to let Aang and Suki get some sleep," He said, taking a seat on the cushioned pew next to her. The group had met Asami and her friend Korra once they met up with the people who had started Republic City. They did group runs to find more materials to keep the growing uninfected city going. Korra passed Zuko a water, "How long have you two been up?"

"Only a little bit, I don't get much sleep outside the city," Korra stretched her arms above her head. "As much as I dislike my apartment at night, the noises are like _relaxing_ , you know?"

"You have noises around your apartment?" Zuko asked, "It's always like dead silent around me and Suki's apartment…well except for her snoring."

Asami sipped her water again, "Well we share an apartment next to Aang and Yue and we hear _everything_ she does in there. Poor girl needs a boyfriend."

"Stop talking about me," They heard Yue mumble from the pew she was sleeping on.

"Stop masturbating so much," Korra said.

"Stop having sex with each other so loud," Yue shot back, turning both girls face's bright red and Zuko looked at them.

"When were you two going to bring that up?" Zuko barely contained his light laughter. "Were any of you going to invite us to the wedding or will we just see you two with wedding rings on at some point?"

"It's harmless experimentation, we don't know if either of us are going to come back from one of these runs. We've lost Bolin and Mako while you lost Mai and we all almost lost Jet a couple runs back…we're just embracing life wherever we can get it," Asami explained.

Korra sipped her water, "I don't know about you, but I just love getting off three times a night."

Zuko stood up, "Well that's all I need to hear. Okay guys, wake up, time to head out. Jet, make sure Princess wakes up from her beauty sleep, we're leaving in 10."

* * *

Zuko's rifle hung off his left shoulder while his right arm went around Suki's waist, the group walking behind him, the lack of sleep getting to them. Being this close to the wall, there were few to no infected around so it was an easy and relaxing walk. Aang, as usual, kept his guard up until they made it inside of the walls of Republic City. Jet sighed as he repositioned the bag of medical supplies on his shoulder, "Why do I always have to carry the bag of supplies?"

"Why are you always the one who complains?" Azula shot back.

"Because I'm tired of being the one who always carries the bag of supplies!"

"We have to keep you around for _something_ Jet," Zuko joked, earning him a dirty look in the back of his head. Seeing the walls through the small thicket brought relief to the group, they were only a couple clearance checks away from a good night's rest. Stepping out into the open field before the wall made them easily spotted by the guards, Zuko raised up his hand to show they were human as they crossed the field. He gave a guard a nod as they made it to the gate which slowly opened for them. They were quickly checked for bites and scratches before they took the supplies.

Korra yawned, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to get a hot shower before I hit the hay."

"And I'm assuming Asami is joining you?" Yue commented as the group split apart.

Zuko heard a familiar voice by the processing building that checked out newcomers to the city. "Go ahead to the apartment, I'll be there in a little."

"If you want to stay up and do more work, be my guest," Suki kissed his cheek before going towards the apartment complexes. Zuko walked over to see several guards surrounding a small group of survivors, whoever was leading the group had a big mouth on them.

"-You can't send us back out there, my Father needs medical attention. All he did was break his leg, once it gets fixed, we can be on our way, please," The man pleaded.

Zuko glanced in between the guards to see the familiar voiced man, "Holy shit…" The guards broke apart a little at Zuko's words and saw the full image of Sokka Aqua. His dark brown hair was a mess; he had grown a trashy beard and wore torn clothing. "Well if it isn't Sokka Aqua…"

"Do you know this man sir?" One of the guards asked. With being one of the head supply runners and one of the founders, Zuko had a high position in the city and was well-known to the guards.

"I used to…the last thing I remember is having his gun in my face," He mumbled the last part, the hatred he saw 2 years ago still present in his eyes.

"He's claiming his Father needs help and his group needs passage into the city, do you want us to let them in?"

Zuko was silent for a couple moments, knowing Sokka's Father's life was possibly on the line as well as his groups. He sighed, "I guess…but just to be safe, I would suggest a full-body cavity search, just to make sure he isn't hiding anything." Fear spread through Sokka's body when he felt two strong hands on his shoulders. Zuko smiled, "Welcome to Republic City Sokka."

 **-SDB**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome to the second chapter, thank you to everyone for the reviews! Btw, Ashley, just because you requested me not to kill off Aang, I'll make sure he's the first to bite the big one. Please enjoy!**

 _Zuko made sure the large barn doors were secure before going to the ladder to loft. He pulled up the ladder for safety before retreating to the hay pile he had previous set up. Aang had Yue and Toph curled up to him on one pile, Mai lying alone beside them, his sister was cuddled up to Jet while Suki had her own pile. He smiled at how peaceful she looked as she slept. It had been a hard day for them all, especially when he found out that Suki had found her parents dead. Zuko collapsed on the hay and sighed, while it may not be a comfortable bed, it was a bed for the night. "Zuko?" His head perked up to see Suki sitting up. "Is everyone asleep?" He looked back at their friends to see them still silently sleeping. Zuko nodded and she got up, lying on the hay pile with him. "Can we talk?"_

" _Well I am pretty busy," He attempted humor, only getting a small smile from Suki. "What's going on Suki?"_

" _What Sokka said earlier today…was that true? Are you in love with me?" Suki asked._

 _Zuko let his head rest back on the hay, "With everything that is going on, you want to know that?"_

" _You're not answering my question," Suki lightly shoved him. "I just left my boyfriend for you." Zuko noticed her hand resting on his chest. "With so many questions…I just want one answer."_

 _Zuko put his hand over hers, "I thought last night was a good enough answer…and I should probably apologize for stealing that kiss…"_

" _Well…I think we should make things fair…I'll steal a kiss from you," Suki leaned down and kissed him, but before she could pull away, his hand grasped the back of her auburn hair, deepening the kiss._

* * *

Zuko walked down the hall, Suki behind him to his left and his sister to his right. "Do you think they'll be able to stay in the city?" Suki asked.

"That's why we're here," Azula answered for her brother. "They usual idiots who do this think it'll be better if we do the interview since we know them. If Sokka doesn't still want to go postal on Zuzu, they might be able to find a place for them."

"The man who I saw earlier was definitely the same Sokka, so if he wants to stay, that might be an issue," Zuko said, pushing the double doors open to allow them into the processing room. It was a rather large room that allow multiple 'evaluations', as Raiko, one of the other founders, had stated when they had created the city. Once it was deemed you're able to stay in the city, it was then the duty to find out what that person could do to carry their weight within the community. While it was a situation to gain trust for both parties, the new group was kept in cuffs until they were deemed safe. Guards stood at the sides of the group, Sokka sitting in front with the same look of anger Zuko saw earlier.

"Zuko? Suki?" He looked towards the leader's younger sister, her messy and most likely dirt filled brown hair was tied back, she wore a dirty blood stained shirt with blue jeans. She attempted to get up, but a guard stood in her way.

"Go ahead and let her through," Zuko told the man, who obliged quickly. Katara ran towards Suki and crashed against her, Suki easily held her ground as they hugged. Katara had already broken down in tears as the two friends embraced each other for the first time in 2 years.

"I missed you so much," She mumbled against her body. "We've lost so much…and all I wanted was to see you guys again." Suki's eyes went towards the battered group. She saw only a few familiar faces, Sokka, Ty Lee and Sokka's Father. Suki could only guess what happened to Haru, most likely the same ending she saw Mai suffer. Most of the group they had was filled with females, the only other males was a boy with bandaged legs and one with a stoic and somewhat creepy look.

Zuko cleared his throat, "Well, let's get down to business." Suki let go of Katara, motioning her to go back to the group. Begrudgingly, she went back and sat down beside her injured Father. "Sokka…I'm glad to see you recovered from the cavity search they gave you."

Suki hit him on the shoulder, "You gave him a cavity search?"

"What? You know as well as I do that we have no idea what has happened with them in the last two years," Zuko justified, attempting to fight the smile that attempted to force itself on his face. He grabbed a free chair and pulled it closer to the cuffed group. Zuko sat down, resting his elbows on his knees, "So some of you don't know me, but I bet you've heard a couple things about me from Sokka or Katara. I'm Zuko Goto, the pyromaniac behind me is my little sister Azula, and, well, the other is obviously Suki. We are part of the founding members of Republic City. A handful of us discovered, secured and even built from the ground up part of this city. While we welcome new members, you must understand, for obvious reasons, it's a very strict and _very_ thorough process. We can't have people coming in here even for a minute if they have ill will towards us." Zuko looked towards Sokka, "Whatever happened in the past…is the past, I'm willing to vouch for you to get the medical attention you need, a place to stay and if it comes down to it, send you on your way with supplies or a place to stay."

Sokka's anger remained on his face, "I just want help for my Dad and we'll be leaving after that."

"Sokka, stop being an idiot," Katara hissed at her brother. "We just lost most of our group a week ago when a herd of them hit us. This can't be pure coincidence that we've been given this chance Sokka, not only is this the best highly defended community, Zuko is a higher up and is willing to help."

"Katara, please, it's fine," Zuko assured her. "We didn't split apart on the best of terms." The two former friends made eye contact once again. "I'm going to be very blunt about this Sokka, what happened between the three of us is history, we're no longer in a situation where we can let something like this endanger your family and group. Like I said, if you don't want to stay here and join us, you have the option to leave, but if you want medical attention for your Father, you have to follow the guidelines of our city." Sokka remained silent, his glare never faltering.

Suki gritted her teeth, "Don't let your stupid pride kill you Sokka." Zuko held up a hand to her, knowing that it would only make the situation worse.

"Can I trust you Sokka?" Zuko questioned.

"Sure," He finally growled back after a moment

Zuko was silent for another moment before clearing his throat, "Since I can trust you, Katara, Ty and your Father…can you vouch for every member of your group?"

"They wouldn't harm a hair on anyone's head unless they're attacked," Katara spoke up for her brother.

"Thanks Katara, but I need to hear it from Sokka's mouth." Zuko looked back to Sokka, "If things get serious and I need people to listen to a couple orders from me, can I trust them to follow me Sokka?"

"Yeah, you can trust them…they won't take off with your girlfriend at the first sign of danger," Sokka sarcastically replied.

Zuko stood up, "Good then. Guards, take him away." They quickly pulled him out of the room, though not without him yelling for Zuko's head.

"Where are you taking him Zuko?" Katara questioned, standing up again. "You know us Zuko. All we want is a safe place to live. We will pull our own weight and do anything you want."

"Katara, relax, I just need to talk to your group alone, seeing what they can bring to Republic City without your brother freaking out on me," Zuko calmed her. He looked at the older girl sitting against the wall, her attention obviously not on him. She had her raven hair in a topknot and had a tattoo of a coiled snake on her arm. "You," She looked up, "What's your name?"

"June."

"What is your specialty?"

"Put a rifle in my hands and I can shoot a dead head between the eyebrows from a 100 yards away." June non-chantley replied.

Azula smiled, "I like her."

Zuko ignored his sister's comment, "Anything else?"

She thought for a moment, "I have a good amount of welding experience."

"How about fence repair? We've been needing someone who knows what they were doing to double check the weak points," Zuko suggested.

"Sounds good to me."

He looked to the next girl, "How about you? What's your name?"

"Jin," She sweetly replied, making Suki raise an eyebrow.

"What can you do?"

"Well, I'm not really a fighter. I'm really good with kids though, I used to watch some in our last group while their parents went out to look for food," Jin explained.

Zuko nodded, "Okay, well that would help us a lot. We'll set something up for you." Her smile sparked jealousy in Suki, but ignored it when Zuko walked to the next survivor. "What's your name?" The silent boy just stared back at him.

"That's Long Shot. We don't know his real name. As far as we know, he's mute and doesn't know sign language. The only person who can understand him is Bee," Katara nodded towards the girl sitting beside Long Shot.

"Okay, _Long Shot_ , what can you do?" Zuko asked.

He just blinked in response, "He says that he's a good sniper. That's all he really knows."

Suki leaned over to Azula, "She got all of that from a blink?" Azula shrugged, Suki wasn't sure whether it was lack of interest or if this was a rare moment where they were on the same page.

"Well, since you're the only one who seems to understand him, you'll be paired with him. We'll put you through a week of training to be a sniper for the wall. Bee, you can be his look out." Zuko told them, going to the boy with the bandaged legs. "What's your name?"

He raised his hand to attempt to shake his hand, "My name is Teo." Zuko eyed the hand before shaking it, liking the respect from the newcomer.

"What happened to your legs Teo?" Zuko asked.

"I broke them a while back. Katara did her best and reset my bones when we still had medical supplies. But she thinks I should be good in a couple weeks with some type of physical therapy." Teo explained. "Don't worry though. I can carry my own weight. I'm a really good mechanic."

Zuko's attention peaked, "A mechanic huh?" He looked at his hands, "Ever work on Asian made cars?"

He chuckled, "Almost exclusively."

"Then you would be perfect. Our mechanic's hands are too big to work in those small spaces," Zuko looked towards the guards, "Can we get him a wheelchair? We can't have him being carried everywhere." He nodded and left the room. "It's good to have you Teo." Zuko went to Hakoda next. "Mr. Aqua, it's good to see you have survived. I'm sorry I wasn't one of the people who came to your aid in the Police station two years ago, but you must understand that I did what I thought was right to keep my group safe."

Hakoda nodded, "I fully understand Zuko."

"I'm glad to hear that. With your Police background, I was thinking about a guard position once your leg is fully healed. I have no doubt that a man with your experience will be perfect." Zuko suggested.

"Whatever I can do to help," He replied with a smile.

Zuko looked at Ty Lee, "I'm not quite sure where you can fit in Ty, but I'm sure we can find you some place."

"I can cook food," Ty Lee cheerfully said. He immediately thought back to a Christmas before the outbreak, Ty Lee brought what she called cookies, but what the hospital called pure poison when Sokka had to get his stomach pumped.

"I think we'll be fine on cooks Ty, I'll talk to Raiko, maybe I can you higher job." Usually he wouldn't suggest such a good job for a new comer, but Zuko knew that if Ty Lee had any ulterior motives, she wouldn't be able to hide it. He finally came to Katara, "How comfortable are you with being outside the walls Katara?"

Suki immediately knew where Zuko was going, "Zuko, no."

"I agree Zuko," A rare agreement with Suki coming from Azula's mouth, "She is not going to join us."

"We need a person who knows medicine and you both know that. We can't be out there without one," Zuko explained. "Katara, do you want to be our supply run medic?"

Suki grabbed her boyfriend, "Zuko…you know _exactly_ why that is a bad idea. You wouldn't invite Sokka to be part of our supply runs for the same exact reason."

"What? What's wrong with me going on out runs with you guys? I will do what I can do to help and I can defend myself," Katara attempted to plead her case, not understanding that the problem wasn't about her experience.

"If you two won't tell her, I will," Azula sighed. "You remember your ex-boyfriend? We all got tired of him complaining about you after we split apart and not even taking into account seeing you again, he will bitch _even more_ about being stuck out past the wall with you."

Suki eyed Azula, "I was going to be more subtle about it, but thanks Azula." She looked back to her friend, "While I don't doubt what you can do Katara, I think if _someone_ thought it through, it would be obvious that putting you two back near each other wouldn't be a good idea."

"Just let me talk to Aang, we haven't seen each other for two years and I'm sure we can get along," Katara assured Suki.

Zuko turned to his girlfriend with a smile, "See? Everything works out." The guard finally came back with a wheel chair, "Okay, get these people processed and get them situated. Keep Sokka in a cell until he calms down." He left the room, Suki not too far behind him.

She finally caught up to him and stopped him, pushing him towards the wall, "Zuko, you know better than this. We can't let Katara confront Aang. We both know that it took a long time for Aang to forget about Katara and letting them get that close won't do him any good."

"Like I said, we need a medic out there with us Suki and Aang is going to see her at some point. It's not like New York here Suki; it's hard not to run into familiar faces here," Zuko argued. "Aang is an adult now, he's going to have to get used to being around his ex-girlfriend."

Suki gave him a dumbfounded look, "What is up with you Zuko? Any day before they came to Republic City, you would have been saying 'Screw Katara, she's a total bitch!'." She used a deeper tone, attempting to sound like her boyfriend. "But now, you're saying we need her? What's next? Are you going to let Sokka join the group too?"

Zuko scoffed, "Hell no. If I had it my way Sokka wouldn't even be allowed in this city. He'll be lucky to shine the boots of a guard as a job."

"So why are you keeping my ex away from me, but Aang is going to be up close and personal with his?"

"Aang's ex didn't threaten to kill us the next time they saw us," Zuko pushed off the wall, making her back up against the parallel wall. His left hand against the wall beside her head, his right hand grabbing her hand, "We don't have a medic and unfortunately, we don't have one to spare here. In a perfect world, she wouldn't be here and we'd have another choice, but we don't. With Katara on the team, not only will we have a medic, she and Aang can finally bury the hatchet." He was silent for a moment, looking into her eyes, "But I don't think it's a good idea for Sokka to attempt to make things right with you, I don't trust him _that_ much."

"We all were such good friends Zuko…things can go back to the way it used to be."

His grip on her hand tightened slightly, "I'm okay with the thought of Katara and Aang rekindling their relationship…I don't want to lose you to him."

"You think I would just go back to him?" Suki was slightly offended.

"Part of me fears that…not the logical side of course," Zuko sadly smiled. "I love you Suki and I never want to lose you. You going back to him would be worse than any of those dead heads taking you from me…"

She rolled her eyes, "You're so overly dramatic. I'm more cautious than any of group. And I'm not going back to Sokka. I fell for you since you first kissed me Zuko; it won't take him coming back into our lives to change that fact."

They shared a small but intimate kiss, their lips breaking apart, but his forehead remained pressed up against hers, "You'll love me forever?"

"Forever and ever," Suki smiled.

Zuko reached into his pocket and pulled out a dirty diamond ring, "Then will you marry me?"

"Well that's not a romantic way to ask me."

"We both haven't showered in weeks and are running on a couple hours of sleep in a world filled with Zombies…this is as romantic as it gets honey," He joked.

Suki took the ring from his fingers, "You stole this off a dead head didn't you?" She slid it onto her ring finger, "At least you knew my ring size."

"I asked Yue, she knows random crap like that," Zuko looked at the ring on her finger. "So what do you say?"

"Well I guess I can get used to calling myself Suki Goto," She looked back up to him. "Do we need to have the ceremony though?"

"No, but you do have to find me a nice ring. I didn't have time to find my own." He grinned, making her roll her eyes with a chuckle.

* * *

A knock on his door woke him from his near dead sleep. He raised his head from his pillow, looking back towards his door, "What?" His groggy voice called. The door opened, Yue standing in the doorway, her hair down her back only dressed in her underwear and a big t-shirt.

"Can I sleep with you?" She asked. Aang nodded and let his head fall back on the pillow. It wasn't unusual for the two to share a bed when they came back from their supply runs. She had grown to enjoy Aang's company and the security of having him around. It was the only way she could get a good night's sleep after they got back. She slid in next to him, her arms going around his midsection and resting her head against his shoulder. Her tendency to cling to Aang was the main reason for them sharing an apartment. Asami's words from earlier in the day repeated in her head…not much of her talking about her masturbatory problems, but embracing life wherever she could find it. With being as close as she was to Aang, he was the obvious choice to help her 'embrace life' as Korra and Asami were doing. Her hand softly rubbed his back, his tired eyes opening, wondering what she was doing. Aang turned his head towards her, Yue's face inches away from his. He didn't say anything when she leaned in, her eyes closing and her lips pressing against his. Being caught off guard, she took charge and moved her lips into another kiss. Yue moved him onto his back and she straddled his waist, his lips slowly responded to hers. She could sense his uneasiness, unsure if it was because he didn't want to kiss her or because he wasn't dominate as she assumed. Yue broke the kiss and opened her eyes to stare into his; he mirrored her look of need. She resumed their kiss, getting more of an immediate response this time. The feeling of control thrilled her as she moved his hands to cup her butt, her breath hitched when he squeezed. Someone pounding on their front door interrupted them; they both looked towards the door then back to each other. When it grew quiet again, they resumed their kissing until the pounding resumed.

"Answer your door," Toph yelled from the other side. Yue moved off of Aang and he got up, pulling on a pair of shorts before going to answer the door. She poked her head out of his room as he pulled open the door. "It's one in the afternoon and you're still asleep?"

Aang rubbed his eyes, "You haven't been outside the walls in how long again?"

"It's not my fault neither of you can sleep outside the walls," Toph blew her bangs out of her eyes, giving her a better view now, seeing Yue still in Aang's room. "Oh...am I interrupting something?"

He looked back to Yue, then back to Toph, "What do you want Toph?"

"Zuko put you in charge of putting together a new supply group, remember? I've got the candidates ready and waiting…unless you've got business to take care of here…" Toph nodded towards their friend.

"Can we reschedule this? I'm running on about 5 hours of sleep here Toph." She raised her eyebrow at him, a look she inherited from Azula. She called it her 'Does-it-look-like-I-give-a-shit?' look, Azula obviously approved. "Fine, give me a little bit to get dressed." He shut the door and walked back into his room, pulling on his jeans over his shorts.

Yue awkwardly stood there as he got dressed, "I'm not sure what to say…"

Aang tied his boots tightly, "You don't have to say anything. I understand why, I just didn't really think that you really would want to do that with me."

She sat down beside him, pulling the hem of her shirt down past her knees on instinct, "You've been there for me since everything started and haven't asked for anything in return. While I will admit that before everything started, I haven't really thought about you in that way…but I've grown to see you as the sweetheart you truly are when you are back here with me." Yue turned his face towards her and she softly kissed him again, "I just want to feel _something_ before…"

His hand went over hers, "Like I said…I understand. You don't have to explain it to me Yue." Aang kissed her. He got up from the bed and grabbed a shirt off the floor. "Get some sleep, I'll be back soon. She watched him leave in silence before she relaxed back on the bed. Yue grabbed his pillow and held it to her chest, inhaling his scent. With the lack of sleep mixed in with the comfort of Aang's room, it only took minutes for her to fall asleep.

* * *

Aang rubbed his tired eyes as he and Toph walked down the hall of the apartment complex. "So," Toph spoke up, "You're giving it to Princess huh?" He remained silent, knowing that responding only made things worse. "She's a giant step up from Sugar Queen. I mean, like she's Sugar Queen 2.0, I should demote Katara's nickname to Sugar Princess and make Yue the Sugar Queen."

"How about we just don't talk about Katara? It's been two years since we've seen her and I would like to just move on from her," Aang finally said. "And what's going between me and Yue is no one's business but me and Yue's."

Toph smirked, "Yeah, okay, because I'm just going to let you get away with that. I didn't let Sparky off the hook and I'm definitely not letting you off the hook." He ignored her as they climbed down the stairwell and out the front doors to the rest of the city.

Aang was surprised to see Asami leaning against the wall of the apartment complex, "I thought you would be sleeping."

"I got my sleep while we were beyond the wall," She said as she begun to follow them. "I wanted to see who you're going to put in charge of the new supply group."

"You want to be the leader of the new supply group don't ya?" Toph chuckled.

"I was thinking of throwing my hat into the ring," Asami answered defensively. Aang sighed. The past between the two girls was the reason why Toph didn't go to the other side of the wall. "Too bad you can't become the leader, I hear that being 5'3" doesn't meet the height requirement shorty." Asami was also the only one who came up with a nickname for Toph.

Toph clenched her fists, "Just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't whoop your ass."

"Should I get a ladder so you can reach?"

"I would only need a ladder to drive the back of my heel into that pretty little face of yours."

"Would you two stop?" Aang groaned. "I'm too tired to be listening to this. I'm not making you the leader of the new supply group Asami. I have direct orders to not let any of us from the first group to be moved. I'll pick them, we'll train them and that's it."

"Fine, fine," Toph held up her hands in defense, "Jeez Twinkle Toes, you are so _moody_ without sleep." They walked to the training grounds where the candidates were waiting for Aang's arrival. "Okay maggots. Straighten up for 2nd in command of the Alpha 1 team, Aang Ono."

Aang watched them all follow Toph's command. In all, there were at least 20 candidates, only 8 of them were females. "Thank you all for your time. I hope you all understand that while I will pick only 10 of you…that doesn't make any of you luckier than the others. Being part of the Alpha 2 team is dangerous and will require your constant vigilance. You're out there alone with only a small group with back up being at least 3 hours away from you if they can even see your flare." He walked closer to the group, stopping before one of the men, "Are you ready to watch one of your team members get their intestines ripped out and go on like nothing even happened?" He nodded. "How about being left with half a clip in the dark while it's pouring down rain, attracting every deadhead in the area to your location?" The man nodded again. "It's nice to know that you won't let the fear show, but thinking you can be a superhero will get you killed. Zuko was separated from us for two days, we held up in a local apartment building when one of our own fell ill. He scouted the area for medication and found himself in the middle of a construction site when the clouds came in. Zuko took cover in the half built house when the sky grew dark and the dead heads came in. He described it as the single most frightening thing he had ever experienced…and it wasn't the last time that kind of thing has happened to any of us." He could see the horror in the eyes of the recruits, already seeing the regret in most of their eyes. "So...how many of you want to join _now_?" 10 of them raised their hands, "Perfect, you're all in. Training starts tomorrow at sunrise, don't be late." Aang turned on his heel and walked back to the apartments.

"I can see why Zuko chose him…" Asami mumbled to Toph.

 **-SDB**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the month break, I'm still fighting writer's block, it's a bitch. Anyways, here's the third chapter!**

 _The manhole cover finally moved with Sokka's loud grunt, he poked his head out to see the barren street. He quickly got out of the sewer, helped every get out before gaining his bearings. "Okay, so where are we Dad?"_

 _Hakoda looked around, "It looks like we're on the edge of downtown. After being in the sewers that long, I'm just happy to be out."_

" _We should try to catch up with Zuko and the rest of them," Katara suggested. "I'm sure they didn't get that far after a day."_

 _Sokka shook his head, "No, we're not going to find Zuko. If we see Zuko, I'm putting a bullet in his head."_

" _You can't kill Zuko," Ty Lee spoke up. "He's been prepared for this thing since the first outbreak. We might need him Sokka."_

" _After what he said…and what he did…I don't want to see Zuko, hear his name or even his voice. I'll keep my promise…if I see Zuko Goto again, I'm going to put a bullet between his eyes," Sokka clutched his gun._

" _You can't hold a grudge against him son," Hakoda said, "He did what he thought was best for him and for the people who followed him, just like what you did. Just because of a minor disagreement between you and Suki shouldn't mean we should kill Zuko."_

 _Sokka pulled back the slide on his pistol, "The guy who was supposed to be my best friend told me that he would reunite me with my mother, turned my other friends against me and then took the love of my life...he'll be lucky if those things tore him apart piece by piece before I get to him."_

* * *

Jet rubbed his eyes as they walked through the open field, "Remind me again why I'm up right now."

"Because everyone else is busy," Suki told him, leading the way away from Republic City, "And Zuko wouldn't allow me outside the walls without someone with me."

He yawned, "I'm still not remembering why I agreed to do this."

"Azula threatened to cut your balls off."

"Oh yeah…" He looked back to see they were out of sight of the wall snipers. "So why do you want to leave as soon as we got back? I thought you two were happy that you could actually get a good night's sleep…and that shower you two desperately needed." Suki held out her left hand, his eyes widening at the ring. "Holy shit, that's a nice rock."

"Zuko gave it to me last night and I'm going to look for a ring for him." Suki told him. She had done her best to get all the dirt and grime off the ring last night with some water and a rag, but it still was slightly dull.

Jet remained silent for a moment before clearing his throat to speak again, "So is it true what Azula said about Katara and Sokka showing up?" Suki nodded. "That's going to be a little awkward, don't you think?"

"A little awkward is putting it lightly," Suki commented, "not only for me and Zuko, but now for Aang and Yue."

"Why is it going to be awkward for Yue and Aang?"

"Toph apparently interrupted them hooking up yesterday," She told him.

Jet laughed, "Man, I never knew that kid had it in him. I'm not going to lie, before all of this, if you told me that Aang would be the one hooking up with Yue, I wouldn't be able to breathe because I would be laughing so hard. Now if you told me that Zuko was doing Yue, I would believe that." He said matter of factly, Suki's head swiveling towards him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You didn't hear about Yue's crush on Zuko?" Jet asked. She shook her head. "Yeah, before all of this, Yue would flirt with Zuko all the time. She even sent him some nude photos. That girl is as beautiful clothed as she is naked."

"I'll turn your dick into sushi if you don't shut it," Suki growled. She was silent for a moment and finally sighed, "Why didn't Zuko tell me this?"

He shrugged, "Maybe because he didn't think it was important. The only person he told was me and he deleted the photos after he got them. Or, you know, you were busy with your relationship with Sokka and him being so in love with you, he didn't really feel like telling you."

Suki knew Jet had a point, but her mind went back to any time that she thought Yue and Zuko were a little too close for comfort. She knew that Zuko would never pick another girl over her; there was no way he would if he gave her that ring. Suki let the thoughts fade from her mind, "You're right, I'm probably just overthinking." They slowed their speed and moved as silently as possible as they got closer to the ruined city.

"So are we just going to go jack some deadheads or are you looking for something more high-class?" Jet whispered.

Suki shook her head, "No, I know exactly where I'm getting Zuko's ring."

* * *

Sokka rubbed his newly shaven cheek, the only facial hair that remained on his face was on his chin. He had cut his hair short enough to put it in a wolf tail again. With a hot shower and new clothes, Sokka felt human once again. He pulled open the bathroom door; his sister was on his bed slowly brushing her hair. "I never thought I would ever need a hair brush again," Katara mused with a smile.

"Well hey, thank the Spirits Zuko and his squad of saviors liberated those brushes from the army of the undead," Sokka grumbled.

Katara sighed, "Sokka, would you just stop please? I understand your grudge against Zuko, but you have to let it go. Even I stopped caring about what he said about Mom, it's the past and if it wasn't for him, we would probably be getting torn apart by deadheads right about now. You and I both know that we only had a few days left at most…and that would be if we happened to find shelter. I think Zuko vouching for us is at least just enough to make up for everything."

"How about the fact that he had the guards give me a full body cavity search when we got here?"

Katara attempted to hide her smile, "While I admit that it was petty and over the top to do, it wasn't that bad…did they…did they at least use lube?" Sokka angrily glared at his sister as she burst into a giggling fit. She composed herself, wiping her eyes, "I'm sorry Sokka, but it's a little funny."

"You weren't the one with a person's finger in you!"

"Well if someone tried that, I would hope they would buy me dinner first," She chuckled, worsening her brother's mood. "You just need to let it slide Sokka, if we can show them that they can trust us again, we can actually live in those nice apartments that everyone else is staying in."

Sokka grabbed his boots from in front of the small bed and pulled them on, "Once Dad is able to walk again, we're outta here Katara."

" _You_ might be…" She muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sokka questioned.

"Sokka, the people we have grown up with are all together again. We've already lost Haru and they've lost Mai. I miss spending time with Suki, having girl talks with Yue and even fighting with Toph…don't you miss any of them?"

"They chose their side Katara…"

She rolled her eyes and got off the bed, "Oh, 'they chose their side', chill out action movie stereotype," Katara mocked her brother. "So you're saying you didn't miss Aang or Jet? You hung out with both of them _and_ Zuko all the time. There is no way you don't miss it. If you want to stay bitter, then whatever Sokka, I'm going to see our friends." Katara stormed out of his room and sighed as she stood in the gray hall. They were being temporarily housed in a dorm like building while they were being 'evaluated'. She stopped by her room to drop off her hair brush before going outside. A pair of guards stood by the front door, they gave her a nod as she left. Katara walked down the street, watching the other survivors go along their day; it had been so long since she had seen people act normal for once. Couples walking down the street holding hands and kids chasing after each other was a sight she hadn't seen in years.

She sighed sadly, "What's got you down?" Katara turned to see Zuko walking out of what she could barely recognize as an old convenience store.

"It's weird…"

He chuckled, "How normal this place seems?" Katara nodded. "It's been only a few months since things have been this way. We've finally gotten to the point where we've become a community with enough needs to not be scavenging for food every day. Republic City could go at least two months without a supply run and that's if we don't use the crops that are about to come in."

"You really were prepared for this weren't you?" Katara smiled.

Zuko shrugged, "What can I say? Everyone has their calling…mine was a post-apocalyptic utopia."

Katara couldn't help herself and hugged him, "I've missed you Zuko."

"And we all missed you," Zuko replied. "I even missed Sokka a little bit."

"Whether he wants to admit it or not, Sokka missed you too." She pulled away from him. "I'm sorry things had to end the way they did two years ago. But you had to understand when tensions were high…"

"It's fine Katara, I should apologize for the comments I had made about 'reuniting your brother with your Mother'. Suki still won't let me live that one down…" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's water under the bridge," She felt her heart elate as she and Zuko shared a moment they hadn't had in years. It was like they could all just pick up where they had left off years ago. "So what's new with all of you since we've all seen you? How did you create all of this?"

Zuko started down the street with Katara walking beside him, "Well when we split up from you guys, we headed this way. I thought the best course of action would be going towards the coast. With how the virus had been handled, 'safe zones' were death traps. So we just headed where no one else would go. We met up with a small group on our way here; Raiko and his wife were among the group. By the time we had gotten here, the town was basically barren. Just a few dead-heads were stumbling around. We built a small wall, just around the first apartment building and expanded every day. Once we got enough people, we were able to build the walls even bigger and now we have guards. That's how it's basically been for the past year."

"That sounds almost like a dream compared to how it's been for us…we mostly scavenged before we held up in a grocery store with another group. The deadheads easily swarmed us, that's how we lost Haru…after that, it was one camp after another. We had finally made it just outside of the wall. My Dad was carrying Teo when he broke his own leg. We're lucky that your snipers took care of the deadheads that had been following us. Finally being able to take a breath without the fear of being torn apart is a dream come true," Katara took a breath. "I don't even want to think what would have happened if you hadn't seen Sokka."

"It would have been the same outcome…it just would have saved your brother from someone going into his butt," He joked, both of them breaking out into laughter. "We've had trouble with survivors before, that's why we put them through a trial period. While it seems a little over the top for you guys, there have been times when I or someone else has had to put down someone who decided they wanted to cross us. Two more weeks and we can find you a place in one of the apartments."

She felt her heart elate, it had been so long since they had caught a break like this, "Thank you again Zuko, I'm sure I speak for everyone in our group by saying we'll do whatever we can to pull our own weight around here."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine here," He pulled her into a side hug as they continued walking.

* * *

Her eyes scanned the streets, the occasional overturned car on the sidewalk and bloody streets seemed empty, but her guard would still be up. She signed to Jet to follow her, they knew this town like the back of their hands, it was the first town they gathered supplies from in the early days of Republic City. But there was a few stores they left alone, including the jewelry store that was now in sight. Jet made sure to watch behind them every now and again, knowing that deadheads and even scavengers always had a habit of sneaking up on them. She stopped in front of the dirt caked window, Suki looked around one last time before using her sleeve to wipe away the dirt and grime. Peering into the window, things seemed quiet and figuratively dead. Suki knew better and slammed her fist into the glass a few times, she peered back through the window to see any movement. She was half surprised to see nothing moving. "Any of em?" Jet asked, eyes still scanning the hopefully vacant surrounding buildings. She shook her head before slamming her fist again against window again with the same result. Partially satisfied with the result, Suki tried the front door but it wouldn't budge. "Back door?"

Suki looked around for a moment before throwing her elbow into the glass door, busting it with ease before reaching in for the lock, "No, I got it." Jet rolled his eyes, knowing the more noise they made, the bigger chance they had at being lunch for any roamers. Unlocking the door, she pushed the door open and heard echoes of groans coming behind them.

Jet sighed, "You better hurry up and find something." The store room was pretty basic, four rows of display cases on the sides of the room with one big display on the other side of the room with a register, that was most likely barren. Jet stepped a few feet in front of Suki, but was immediately pulled back, before he could say anything she pointed to the trip wire inches from his foot. "Who the hell puts tripwires in a jewelry store?" Suki remained silent for a moment, hearing a distant static.

"Someone who holds up in a jewelry store," She whispered. Suki kept an eye out for more tripwires, any other movement in the store and of course a ring for Zuko. With most of the rings missing from looters, it was an easy choice since all that was left were basic bands. Spotting a black tungsten ring, her face lit up and grabbed it from the broken display case. Turning back towards the front of the store, a drove of roamers were visible on the street. "Shit…" Jet pulled her towards the back of the store where the static was coming from. They entered the back room and shut the door, the moaning of the roamers now drowned out by the static of a radio from upstairs. The backroom consisted of a small break room along with a staircase to the right. Before going up the stairs, Jet motioned towards the tripwire at the bottom of the stairs. He readied his gun as he slowly led the way upstairs while Suki slowly pulled out of her sword. The static covered the sounds of the creaking staircase, Jet hoped it kept enough of a cover so when he got to the top of the staircase, he wouldn't catch a chest full of lead. Finally stepping over the last tripwire, Jet poked his head into the room at the top of the stairs. It was obvious that someone had been hold up in the room, but it was completely empty now. There was a pair of windows to the back of the store where he assumed was a fire escape on the other side for quick escapes. A messy bed was in the corner with food wrappers and dirty clothes thrown randomly along the floors. The static was coming from a HAM radio that had been left on in front of a map of the old country. Suki spotted some ammo and started to scavenge what she could find while Jet looked at the map.

His eyes widened when he saw their city labeled on the map, but compared to the other encampments around, they were lucky their population or militia size wasn't labeled. He looked over to the other side of the map, in big red letters read 'New Ba Sing Se: Sanctuary!'. "Suki...look at this." Counting the ammo that she had found, she finally looked up at the map, her eyes following his path.

"New Ba Sing Se?" She spoke out loud, "A new settlement?" Her eyes returned to their location, "How do they know about Republic City? We haven't had any newcomers in months and we never trade with anyone."

"We have to tell Zuko about this," Jet finally decided. He started to take down the map when a loud explosion went off below them. They shared a look before Jet nearly tore it down and they climbed out of the back window to the fire escape.

* * *

His fingers drummed on the armrests of the nicest seat he had sat in for the past two years, his gaze going from his sleeping Father to the door of the small clinic room. The sound of his leg bouncing impatiently was basically the only sound in the room, other than his Father's shallow breathing. The pent up anger for his former friend continued to build every second he and his group stayed in Republic City. At this point, he was unsure whether he hated Zuko for what happened between them years ago or if he just became an easy scapegoat for every person ripped from his grasp or scavenger that tried to rob them. He heard a set of footsteps coming down the hall outside the room only from them to pass by, a sigh escaped his lips, his attention going back to his Dad. Once his leg started bouncing again, echoes of another person came strolling down the hall and stopped in front of the door. Sokka's gaze was trained on the shadow that came from under the door of the two feet standing on the other side. Two loud knocks thundered in the quiet room before the door opened, Sokka held himself back as he saw Zuko come into the room. "Hello Sokka," He quietly shut the door behind him, neither of them breaking eye contact. Zuko stood at the end of Hakoda's bed, his arms behind his back as he stared down at him. "Have you gotten a chance to get something to eat or look around?"

"Katara brought me something," He muttered, his grip on the chair increased as his leg continued to bounce. "Is that all?"

"Have you reconsidered staying here?" Zuko got to the point, realizing small talk wasn't going to soothe the turmoil between the two.

"No."

He sighed, "Come on Sokka."

"Don't 'come on Sokka' me," Sokka snapped, "I'm just here for my Dad and when he's fine, we're leaving. I want _nothing_ to do with you or this settlement, you already took enough from me, I don't need you taking any more."

Zuko rubbed his eyes, "Jeez Sokka, grow the fuck up." His tone starting to match his scorned friend. "Suki _chose_ me _two_ years ago. I've killed hundreds of those deadheads, saved and took several lives and started a whole city in that time, but you _still_ can't get over what happened that day _two_ whole _years_ ago?"

"If you wouldn't mind, could you have this argument somewhere else?" Hakoda groaned, the two of them turning towards the older man. "As much as I appreciate your hospitality, the yelling is a little much."

Zuko cleared his throat, "Sorry Hakoda, I'll let you get some rest." His eyes went back to the icy stare of his ex-friend. "We'll continue this some other time, I suggest you reconsider before you let your pride take more than Suki." He left without another word, Sokka letting out an angry huff after he shut the door.

"What an ass…" He muttered.

"An ass that saved our lives," Hakoda responded. He opened his tired eyes and turned to his son, seeing the confused look on his face, "Never would have thought I would ever see your actual face again." As his Father laughed, Sokka unconsciously rubbed the exposed skin that was once covered by facial hair. "You know if you're going to try to leave, you'll be leaving alone right?"

"I'm the group leader, what I say goes."

Hakoda rolled his eyes, "You sound like you're ten years old again son, get off your high horse and realize when we're given a break. If you continue to lead our group like that, you won't be the leader for long, I can guarantee that."

He ran his hands down his face, "Fine, whatever…we can stay. But don't expect me to get along with him…"

"Maybe you _should_ take Zuko's advice…"

* * *

His stormy gray orbs scanned each one of the new recruits as they ran back and forth between the lines he had drawn in the dirt, they had been running for at least the last half an hour and were beginning to slow down. "If you were to go out in this condition, you would be dead in a day!" Aang called out, some of the recruits attempted to go faster while two of them collapsed onto the ground. He calmly walked over to them, "Get the hell up or I will throw you on the other side of the wall!" He ignored the snickering behind him as the two exhausted recruits dragged themselves up and kept up with the others. Aang glared over his shoulder to see Toph's amused expression. Giving the recruits one last look, he walked over to the smaller girl and turned back towards the recruits as he stood beside her, "Could you _not_ laugh as I'm trying to be intimidating?"

She smirked, "I'm sorry, it's just so weird seeing you be so _authoritative_. If I knew that you had that in you, I would have tried to jump your bones before all of this."

"If you keep making jokes like that, I'm going to assume you're harboring a crush for me," Aang responded with a smile, the first one that had been on his face all day.

They were silent for a moment watching the group continue to run before she spoke up. "In case no one has told you, you're doing a really good job."

"Did Toph Bei Fong just compliment me?" He was instantly answered with a punch to the shoulder, something that he had grown immune to over the years. "Thank you, that means alot coming from you."

Her fingers tapped against her other arm as they were crossed against her chest, "And you know what will happen if you tell anyone right?"

"Oh don't worry, I have that speech memorized." He saw Yue coming from their apartment complex and straightened up, "Okay, that's enough for the day." Everyone collapsed onto the ground, catching their breath and wiping the sweat from their faces. "Drink plenty of water and I want you back here at midday."

"And eat your vegetables and drink your milk," Toph mocked behind him, smiling at his glare.

Stepping over the nearly dead men, Aang smiled as Yue approached, "Hey, what's up?"

"It's about dinner time, I was going to see if you wanted to grab some soup and we could eat up on the roof tonight, watch the stars and maybe Zuko will let us grab a bottle of wine?" She smiled at her suggestion, the idea making him smile as well.

He gave Toph a quick look, who was pretending like she wasn't there, before looking back at her, "That sounds great." Aang instinctively took her hand, catching her off-guard for a moment before squeezing his hand back. "I'll see you tomorrow Toph."

"Have a great night Prince and Princess Twinkle Toes," Toph mock bowed before going off towards her apartment as the new couple went off towards the mess hall.

"Taking it to the next level huh?" Yue's smile was complemented by the blush across her cheeks.

He glanced over to her for a moment, "Well you made the first move, it was obviously my turn to push the boundaries." Aang made sure to not use the word relationship, not wanting to have _that_ talk yet. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they continued walking, his mood elated until they passed the evaluation dorms, barely hearing the audible hum coming from an open window. His heart and stomach dropped, cementing him in place as the tune continued.

Yue's brow furrowed, seeing the blood drain from his face, "What? What's wrong?"

He blinked a few times, "Is that Wonderwall…" She paused to listen to the humming, the higher pitch indicating it was a woman humming in the bathroom.

"Um, I think so, it's been a bit since I've heard it...why?"

"...that was Katara's lullaby." He answered. Yue was about to dismiss his worrying when the female in the bathroom began singing the tune. Aang turned towards the open window, "Katara…"

 **Sorry there wasn't much in terms of story chunks, but I unfortunately had to force my way through this to get to the rest of the story. I'll attempt to be quicker with the updates, no promises haha.**

 **-SDB**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this took so long, but I've finally got this chapter out!**

 _He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as it attempted to take him over, the deathly quiet night didn't help in his battle against his slumber. His legs hung out the barn window, his head rested against the frame as he counted down the time until the sun climbed the sky. The two weeks the group had been held up in the barn, he had gotten somewhat used to the creaks and groans the barn would make during the night. The creaking of the boards behind him barely registered in his brain, he didn't even turn his head when Aang sat next down to him. "Still alive?"_

 _Zuko cleared his throat, "Somehow."_

" _Want me to take watch? You haven't gotten much sleep since we got here."_

 _He shook his head, "I've got it."_

 _Aang fell silent as he stared at his friend, "Are you okay man? I mean, other than the whole being chased by flesh-eating monsters until we eventually die thing." He saw a rare smile flash on Zuko's face at the small joke before his face returned to it's almost blank look._

" _I'm fine...it's just...I'm trying to keep it together," He admitted with a sigh. "It's one thing to think of a plan for all of this, but it's another to try to keep your friends and family alive while the world plunges into chaos. I'm basically just winging it at this point…" Silence fell on them again, both of them staring out into the still night._

" _Well if it means anything, you're hiding it very well," Aang attempted to find the words to comfort his friend, though to his dismay it didn't change his mood. He stayed silent for a moment, "Without you Zuko, I would be one of those things out there looking to tear another person apart, the same with everyone else with us. You saved us and have kept us alive this long man, we'll follow you to the end of the Earth. We're not asking for the best plan, this is perfectly fine until you or all of us can come up with a plan to continue on." Zuko didn't respond. "Take however long you need to take a breath, you deserve it more than anyone."_

 _Zuko smiled softly after a yawn, "Thanks man, but I think I can handle it." He patted Aang on the back before getting up. Aang just smiled as Zuko took his place next to Suki, falling asleep almost instantly._

* * *

A heavy silence hung in the air as Zuko kept his eyes on the older man, his eyes not leaving the map on the table. Suki's fingers rapped against her crossed forearm, leaning against a table against the wall, Azula focused on filing her nails, not letting the end of the world stop her from her beauty regiment. The older man finally looked up from the map, "So?"

"So?" Zuko echoed with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, so what? Isn't that what you kids say?" He went back to looking at the map. "So what?"

"This could be the key to restarting life," Zuko was a little surprised at his lack of enthusiasm. "If their colony is as big as Republic City, there could be many more. We could get in contact with them and hopefully bring things back to the way they used to be. Isn't that what we're trying to do here Raiko?"

Raiko sat back in his chair, "Or this could be a trap. I might not be one of the few that journey on the other side of that wall and see what you all see, but it only takes a few minutes out there to distrust a map that knows information about every settlement including ours Zuko." The two shared a look before Raiko's gaze once again scanned over the map. "Would you be willing to risk the city on a hunch? If you could even survive the journey to 'New Ba Sing Se', which I could guarantee a good amount of manpower, what if they don't let you in or just kill you on sight?"

"And what if they don't?" Suki finally chimed in. "If they had _such_ ill intent on us or any of these groups on the map, why would they leave this for us or anyone to find?"

"To bait you away from the city to attack," Raiko answered without pause.

"You seem to certain for someone who admits he hasn't been outside the walls," Azula sighed, putting her nail file away. "Jet said there was also a radio there right?" Suki nodded. "Why don't we try to contact whoever left all their shit there? We can at least get a read on who is keeping tabs and if we should worry about them." All eyes turned to Raiko who thought about it for a moment before simply shrugging.

"Go ahead and check, but I hardly believe it will change anything," Raiko stood up from his chair. "Until there is actual concrete proof that we can trust these people, I'll get ripped apart by the dead before I back this idea." Raiko excused himself out of the room.

Zuko rubbed his eyes, "Maybe Raiko is right."

"When is he ever right?" Azula countered.

"That's why we have to take this chance," Suki continued. She leaned over the table, "It's a few days if we drive, a little more if we walked, but it's worth the risk. They don't know our manpower, or how many weapons we have, they know as much about us as we know about them."

Azula slowly clapped, "Looks like the student has surpassed the master in undead apocalypse survival."

"You know I'm right when your sister agrees with me," Suki added.

"She's _your_ sister too now, remember?"

Azula's brow furrowed, looking at the two before the ring on Suki's left hand caught her eye, "Oh Spirits, really? I'm not going to have to get you a gift right?"

"We have other things to focus on," Zuko changed the subject, "We need to get a group out there and clear out any of the dead if they're still shambling about and see if anyone is within range of the radio."

"And if they don't answer?"

Zuko drummed his fingers on the table as he looked over the map, scanning between Republic City and New Ba Sing Se, "...then we go anyways."

* * *

Clicking the last piece of her pistol in place, Korra stared down the sight before smiling, finally being able to disassemble and reassemble her gun without Asami's help. Her sapphire eyes looking up to see Asami still by Aang's side, a smile and a wink seeing her girlfriend's success after too many attempts before. Korra slid a box of ammo closer to her and popped the clip out to begin loading the magazine, a figure in the corner of her eye catching her attention before she could. She was surprised to see Yue's frowning face patiently waiting for her attention. "What's up?" Korra asked, patting the seat next to her as she began to go back to her prior task.

Yue sighed as she took her seat next to Korra, "You know the new group that just came in?" She nodded, quickly loading her magazine. "We used to know them before all this 'people eating people' thing started happening and we kind of ended on bad terms...and Aang used to date one of them."

Korra stopped for a moment, but resumed again by emptying the magazine and starting over, "Wow, you all like to date within the group don't ya?"

She chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of her neck, "Something like that…"

Her trailing off and awkward silence told her what she was attempting to get at, "So you're worried that the other girl is back in the picture?" Yue nodded. "I'm guessing that she was the one who broke it off with him?"

"Yeah…"

"Well...from my experience with heterosexual relationships, all I can suggest would be waiting for him to get eaten and then go down on his ex-girlfriend, but I don't know if that's what you're really looking for," Korra saw the smile that appeared on her face. "Don't worry too much about it is all I can really suggest. It's not like we're in the most romantic of situations for them to rekindle their relationship."

Yue took a breath, "You're right...I shouldn't worry."

"Well...if you haven't hopped on it yet, I would suggest sooner rather than later, can't have wandering eyes if he's already satisfied," Korra's eyes went back to Asami for a moment before back down at the clip.

"You weren't really a person people asked for advice from, were you?" Yue deadpanned.

She shrugged, "I was more in your face about things. If I had a problem with you, I had a hard time holding myself back."

"So I've heard from the other room," Yue attempted humor, Korra couldn't help but chuckle. Worry crossed her face when she saw Katara walking their direction, her eyes currently fixed on Aang, whose back was turned towards her. "Oh Spirits…"

Korra looked up, "That her?" Yue nodded. "Girl is a looker, but you got a better body."

"It's not her body I'm worried about," She sighed, their eyes met and Yue instinctively smiled. Katara took a last look at Aang before coming over to the table.

Her smile nearly broke her face, "Yue!" Yue got up from the table and Katara wrapped her in a vice like grip, hugging her as if she would lose her again. "I can't believe you're all alive, I was so worried about you guys...also I'm sorry to hear about Mai…"

In truth, Yue completely forgot about Mai, not because of her significance, but due to her being the first casuality they had to deal with on the journey to Republic City. "I'm glad to see you made it too Katara." Glad was used loosely. "This is Korra by the way, Korra, this is our friend from childhood Katara."

Korra held out her hand, Katara meeting her hand, "Nice to meet you, I've heard about you from Suki. You're the girl who dumped Aang before the outbreak right?"

Yue gave her a wide eyed look before Katara answered, "Uh yeah, not really my best moment. I was actually trying to find a way to apologize to him since we never really left things on good terms, since we're going to be staying here."

"Oh you're going to join Republic City?" The look from Korra told her that she needed to sound less annoyed at the fact. "That's great! The whole gang is back together now!" Too much. "Sokka is on board?"

Katara gave an awkward chuckle, "In a way. We may or may not have had to force him to stop being an ass to Zuko."

"Knowing him, it won't last for long," Yue chuckled. "Maybe I can try to butter Aang up a little bit to talking to you, make it a little less nerve racking?"

Her face lit up at the suggestion, "That would be awesome! I never would have guessed that you two would get so close." Korra poorly hid a snicker.

"Uh yeah, we've had more time to get to know each other," Yue gave Korra a kick when she mimed oral sex with her tongue and semi-closed fist. "I'll go talk to him real quick and see what I can do." She gave a knowing look to Korra before going over to Aang who was watching over the new recruits. Yue gave Asami a nod before Aang looked over to Yue with a smile, "Hey, do you have a minute?"

Aang nodded, "Sure. Asami, would you watch them for a minute?" Asami's face lit up. "No that doesn't mean you're going to be the new group leader." Her face dropped as Yue pulled him away. "What's up?"

Yue opened her mouth to speak real quick, her eyes going to Katara's hopeful gaze and then to Korra who just gave her a wink. "Um...before I ask you something...want to have a quickie?"

His gray orbs blinked a few times, "What? Really?"

She nodded, "You need a break and I figured it's time to make the most out of our new relationship."

Aang smiled, "Uh sure." Yue lead him towards the apartment with an eager Katara waiting for their return.

* * *

The sun barely peeked over the walls of Republic City as Zuko waited by the walls for the rest of the group, he yawned and stretched his arms above his head. He instantly pulled away when Suki tickled his exposed stomach, she grinned at his reaction. "Little ticklish?"

He crossed his arms across his chest, "Shut up. Where is everyone?"

She looked towards the apartments, "I don't know, it's not that long of a walk anyways, we'll be back before sundown." Her eyes went to his ring finger, "How does it fit?"

Zuko's thumb ran over the black ring, "Good enough, a little loose, but it'll do...Mrs. Goto." Suki smiled at the name, their conversation dying when they saw Aang and Yue walking out from the armory, their hands entwined together. "That's something that I'll have to get used to."

"I think they look cute together," She mused, before her smile fell when Katara walked out of her temporary housing, pausing as she saw the two. "And I thought it was just going to be awkward enough already." She looked away from them as she walked towards the doors a bit behind them. Yue let go of Aang's hand once they got close enough to the two, "Pretty sure meeting at sun up still means meeting at sun up you two."

Aang yawned, "To be fair, we're here before the others."

"And you made it here at the same time Katara made it," Zuko countered, Aang's gaze not even daring to look over to her. "By the way, welcome our newest medic to the group."

His brow furrowed, "You're kidding right?" Zuko didn't budge, knowing that he would just be arguing with a brick wall, Aang gave him a look telling him this wouldn't be over. Aang gritting his teeth for a moment before turning to Katara, the first time he had seen her sapphire gaze in years. "Welcome to back to the group, it's good to see that you made it." There were all taken by surprise at Aang's actually neutral tone. Katara only nodded at him, her gaze turning to Yue before back towards Zuko.

"Good, now I want this to be a simple in and out, we're going to contact the group by the HAM radio, if they don't answer, we'll give them 10 minutes before getting out of there. If any of the dead are still hanging around, we have to eliminate them as quietly as possible, I don't want to attract more attention than necessary." Zuko explained, he placed his hands on his hips as the final two members of the group finally showed up. "Nice of you and Jet to show up, getting your beauty rest?"

Azula shook her head, "No, having sex." He knew she was only saying it to bother him, but he couldn't help but cringe at the thought.

"Thanks for the info," He grumbled. "Simple in and out today, okay?"

"Yeah I know, that's usually how we do it." Jet couldn't help but chuckle.

"I mean-"

She waved him off, "Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean. New Ba Sing Se, blah, blah, blah."

Katara's face was stricken with confusion, "New Ba Sing Se? What's that?"

"We think we can contact a new settlement on the eastern coast, we found a map with its info and a HAM radio. We're going to try to set up trade routes with them," Suki gave her the cliff notes on the situation.

"How do you know that it's even New Ba Sing Se's people who could be on the other side of that radio?" Katara couldn't help but question, her previous role being devil's advocate for her brother's sometimes outlandish ideas.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take and we have enough to fend an attempted ambush, plus, we know the area enough to get away safely," Zuko picked up his rifle that leaned against the wall, slinging it over his shoulder. "Any more questions or can we get going before we're even _further_ behind time?"

His sister shook her head, "No, nothing that won't waste a good amount of time." Zuko just narrowed his eyes at his sister before signaling the guards to open the doors.

* * *

Sokka held open the door for his Father, walking out in crutches, he took a deep breath of the fresh air. Hakoda smiled, looking back over to his son, "Isn't great to be able to go outside without being in fear of the dead?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets, "Yup…"

"We're not even that close to the ocean and I can smell the salt in the air," Hakoda deadpanned, his son's face dropped. "Where is your sister? I thought she would be out and about catching up with everyone."

"Apparently _Zuko_ is making a run out to the city nearby, some secretive thing that he probably didn't want me to know about," Sokka grumbled, following his Dad as he limped his way down the street towards the wafting scent of breakfast.

Hakoda couldn't help but chuckle, "I think you're looking too much into it. We don't know how often they go out to scavenge or hunt. If they left in the middle of the night, then that would be understandable that he would be trying to keep it a secret." There was a line outside of the building that had enticed them for food, Sokka's stomach groaned for both of them. "By the looks of the line out here, they must scavenge a lot." Sokka's first reaction was to make a comment about how the portions were most likely little, but the happy faces and conversation around them silenced him.

His eyes shot to the familiar faces coming out the vacant door to the right of the line, "Hey boss," Smellerbee trotted down the steps with a smile, the stoic as ever Longshot following behind her. "Finally getting some breakfast?"

"Something like that," He sighed. "How did you two get in so early?"

"We got woken up for training at dawn, placed on the west side of the wall," Smellerbee explained. "It's amazing, we watch the path to the sea, they have a set up out there to catch fish and have some livestock out there. Longshot even took out a few of the dead, it's been a pretty productive morning." She looked back at her partner, he gave her a slight nod. "He's pretty ecstatic too, we're only on break for breakfast, but we'll catch up with ya later boss." Smellerbee gave him a wave before they left for the wall, Sokka could feel his Father's eyes on him.

They took a few steps forward along with the line, before another friendly face came out the open door with a fresh plate of food in her hands. Sokka's mouth nearly watered at the sight of the food, before meeting his allies silver gaze, "Hey Sokka!" Ty Lee's cheerful smile as present as ever.

"Hey Ty," Sokka gave her a nod, knowing her bubbly attitude plus his Father's point being further proven was only going to push his annoyance to new levels.

"Who's the food for?" Hakoda asked.

She looked down at the plate and then back up as if she had forgotten she even had it to begin with, "Oh, it's for Raiko, he's been in his office since the group has left and won't be leaving until they get back, something about planning for the future."

Sokka saw the small chance that he had, especially with the world's worst secret keeper. "What type of planning is being set in motion, is there anything we can do to help?" Hakoda leered at his son, knowing where he was going with his questioning.

She paused as she thought about it for a moment, looking at the people around them before leaning in closer. "I'm not supposed to say anything, but there could be a slim chance that the group that went out can get in contact with a new settlement by radio that they discovered. If they do get in contact, we might have to either fortify our defenses or on the even slimmer chance, set up trade routes if they end up being friendly... _but_ you heard _nothing_ from me okay?"

"Of course Ty," Sokka nodded. "Your secret is safe with me, you better get the food to Raiko before it gets cold." She smiled and nodded, "Wait Ty," Ty Lee stopped again. "They wouldn't happen to have a place with books here would they?"

Ty Lee thought about it for a second, "Well, there is a small library near Raiko's office I saw while he showed me around."

Sokka smiled, "Perfect."

* * *

Zuko's gaze narrowed, watching the dead shamble around the street in front of the jewelry store from roof of the office building down the street. His mind continued to fire off ideas of getting inside without a chunk of flesh being bitten off. He peered over to his sister to his right, she was pacing back and forth, her eyes not leaving the scene in front of them. "I'm counting at least fifty, maybe sixty counting any of them within ear shot."

"We need a good distraction," Azula muttered, finally stopping her movement and closed her eyes for a moment before slowly opening again. "I think I have an idea. We'll have to have someone lead them away."

Zuko scoffed, "You want someone to offer themselves up as bait so we can get in there? This is important, but not important enough for us to lose someone."

"Do you have any better ideas?" She questioned. "We can't kill all of them and we can't sneak in the backway without running into more of them. Do you have an invisibility cloak or do you want to pretend like we're one of the dead heads and cover ourselves in their blood and guts?"

"Fine, go down there and distract them genius." Zuko lost his patience. "Don't forget to watch your step so you don't become dinner."

Katara leaned towards Jet, "Is this how things have been since we've left?"

"Yeah, nothing has really changed between them," He whispered back.

"I'll go," Aang finally spoke up, Yue's grip on him tightening. "Figure someone has to do it before you attract them all up here." He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before backing away from her. "How long do you need?"

Azula gazed back at the streets, looking at the distance between them and the store, calculating the time in her head, "We need at least 15 minutes."

"Are you taking into consideration how long it could be to contact whoever is on the other side?" Suki spoke up.

She rolled her eyes, "20 then."

"Well I'll keep a bunch of flesh hungry dead people occupied for almost a half hour then," Aang sighed, pulling the pistol out from the back of his waistband, checking it before climbing down the emergency ladder. Yue frowned as she watched him climb down, wishing she could have spoken up before letting Aang go. She turned to see Katara's eyes on her before quickly looking away. The group waited as Aang walked out towards the street, pulling out his gun and slamming it against a car window, busting it instantly. The dead slowly turned towards the noise as Aang let out a loud whistle to grab more attention. He walked at a slightly fast pace away from the jewelry store as the group started to shamble towards him. They waited as the dead thinned out to a few stragglers before making their way down to the street, Jet and Azula taking out the remaining creatures. Suki led the way into the jewelry store, pointing out the trip wires before they all made their way up the stairs. Zuko looked over the HAM radio before picking up the receiver.

He paused for a moment before pressing the button, "Hello is there anyone there?" The radio returned to static, he waited a few moments before attempting to reach whoever was on the other side again. "Hello? Is there anyone there?" Static once again answered him. He looked over to Suki who shared the same look of impatience. He pressed the button once again, "Hello? Is there anyone from New Ba Sing Se there? We're survivors looking for help." His hope was beginning to fade, he tossed the microphone back at the radio before sighing angrily.

Zuko turned to walk away when the static broke, "Hello? Can you hear me?"

 **-SDB**


End file.
